Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-08-23
THE RAMBLER.
Los ANGELES, CAL, Aug. II. 1887.

While l was collecting my wind for
canter to the Occident I promised to load
the readers of the EAGLE with my impress
sions scraped up along the route and what
l saw In this "blarsted bleedin' country"
Let me first call your attention to the
high kicking INDUCED in by the Wichita
colony, about fifty In number, who are
here monkeying with the Pacific surf for
their health, although some are settled here.
They do not get their EAGLES until nearly
two weeks after they are printed and some
times they come up smiling month after
date. This is tough on Wichitan, for if
there is anything he wants more than some
| thing else it is the EAGLE. l might say,
too, right here that every Wichita man and
woman on this coast thinks there is no place
like Wichita, but they think Los Angeles
is the next best place.
Well, nothing in particular happened on
| the way out. The weather was delight
fully cool until we reached the great Cali
fornia desert One gets very bad impress
sion of California coming that way. 1t is
a vast state, rich in mineral, agriculture
and fruit, but one is surprised to find that
nearly two thirds of this great state is des
ert, incapable of raising enough to feed
a crow with not drop of water for hun
dreds of miles.
Hundreds of Wichita people have come
over the Santa Fe route to California. and
the route has been writ up" more or less.
so l will not bore your readers with long
bologna sausage geological, pathological
and Theological account of the trip. The
old Santa Fe pulled us through in good
shape We had every attention and the
Accommodations were very good. The
eating houses are the best I ever struck on
any line and the service is by far the best.
This is especially true of the eating house
at Las Vegas.
The first morning out I awoke at Cool
idge when we were spinning along among
the hay rfcks and pastures of the upper
Arkansas Valley. The total absence of all
other crops save hay was noticeable
feature. Two and half miles from
Coolidge we invade Colorado, and any one
who imagines that Colorado is state of
timber and mountains is badly fooled.
There is alkali plains and sage brush but
not tree In sight. We breakfasted at La
Junta at TAO and then spun along over
level plain with mountain tops in sight and
good crop of adobe houses until we pull
into the booming town of Trinidad, town
of saloons, adobes, iron, coal, rugged peaks,
Mexicans and real estate agents. The
dusky Mexican maid Is quite frequent and
The Greaser fourishes. Here we begin to
climb the mountains; we pass by sullen,
frowning peaks, cross fertile bits Of valley
and look down the barrels of curious
canons. Here nature begins to get her
back up and keeps getting 1t higher and
higher, scrowling angrily on the bold hui
man invader, you run up against the high
est rocky ridge and old Father Nature
cries haiti But this is q penetrating age
and the snorting iron horse plows his way
up and through the tunnel at Ration pass.
the ancient gateway Of the old "Santa Fe
Trail. This is about the crest of the con-
tinent and 1922 feet high. Here Is, per-
haps, the grandest scenery on the whole
route. Emerging from the tunnel we
sweep down to Ration at $50 p. m. and
enter New Mexico. Here we take dinner.
At Trinidad an additional engine Is mus
tered into the service, showing behind
with all his might up that stupendous
mountain side, but We part with 1t or rather
1t parts with us just before we enter New
Mexico where one might immagine the
ocean waters had receded not more than a
year ago. This is the land of the cactus,
the soap weed, curious rugged rocky peaks
that make one wonder how under heaven |
they were dropped down there. Here too
Is the home Of the Pueblo Indians with |
their red blankets, and feathers In their |
hair, their wonderful unique adobe villages,
their skinny ponies and curious little cattle
There too is the diminitive, contemplative
and sorry looking "Burro." The scenery
through this region is continuously inter
esting the whole Of that day. At 7:30 p.
m. we reached the old Mexican town OF
Las Vegas, the only booming town be-
tween Frenada and California on this route.
Here branch road runs off to Las Vegas,
and Hot Springs, but didn't monkey with
the Springs. We passed beautiful cool
night and slept oblivious of scenery, In
dams and gold mines until we pulled up
at the old town of Albuquerque at in the
morning. Breakfast at Coolidge, n. NJ.
and then On through strange and wonder
full country The bare mountains, the
wonderful lava beds and the most extrsor
binary natural formation man ever beheld.
There are many heavens upon earth, with
an occasional hell thrown Ia where 1t
would do the most good. Right in this
section is the biologists heaven and the
botanist's hell When nature was building
this country l think prohibition did not
prohibit. The old man was evidently Ia
frolicsome mood and didn't care whether |
school kept or not
A brighter vision breaks over the pine
Forests snd treeless plains of Arizona